Gendering Social Work - Essay Example

Gendering Social Work Case Study of Iona Williams Introduction Iona Williams, an 82 year old widow, who lost her partner 18 months ago, is currently deteriorated mentally and physically. She has suffered two falls because of her inability to cope up very well emotionally. As a social worker, I visited Iona at her home in order to identify her problems and she revealed that she is particularly missing the sexual relationship she had with her partner and all these problems are related to that. This paper analyses what should be my attitude towards Iona as a social worker, my assumption about the gender of her partner, and the barriers and challenges faced by Iona. My attitude as a social worker towards Iona As a social worker, it is my duty to extend maximum possible help to Iona. The needs of the older people are often neglected by the societies all over the world and UK is also not an exception. Most of the societies look seriously at the needs of the younger generation because of the possible contribution the society may receive from younger people in future. For example, child health and education are some of the major areas in which the society has no hesitancy to spend more. On the other hand, the needs of the older generation are often neglected by the society because of the concerns about the spending in non-productive sector. Older people have already contributed heavily to the society and it is ethically wrong to neglect them when they need the social support badly. “Social workers cannot avoid the contradictory nature of their role but sometimes they need to take a stand and show which side they are on” (Searing, 2008). The need of Iona for a sexual relationship even at the age of 82 is difficult for me to digest. But as a social worker, I cannot keep a hatred feeling towards Iona as my primary aim is to help Iona in all possible means. Probably the desire put forward by Iona cannot be fulfilled and it is not my duty to help her in this regard. But, I should accept the fact that different people may have different needs irrespective of their age and they have every right to follow their life philosophies. Dench et al (2006) have argued that the culture of entitlement in contemporary Britain may itself need to be reconsidered if further breakdown of order is to be avoided. Not only it is working against the legitimacy of the welfare state, but it may be working against the integrity of the society (Dench et al 2006 p.7). The culture and life philosophies are changing day by day based on the advancements in thinking, life styles. It is difficult for the current generation to follow the traditions, customs or beliefs formulated by the ancient society. Ancient people formulated their life philosophies based on their living standards and because of the advancements in living standards, the ancient life philosophies need to be rewritten. Like the younger population, older people also have different types of needs and sexual needs are one among them. Many people have the belief that sexual activities will be less once a person became old because of lack of physical health. Moreover, the society has an illusion that sex is meant for younger generation; not for the old people. “Sexuality is often a delicate balance of emotional and physical issues. How you feel may affect what you are able to do” (National Institute on Aging, 2009). As a social worker, I must keep the above principle in mind while dealing with Iona in order to understand her needs properly My assumptions about the gender of her partner In my opinion, the life partner of Iona was a female rather than a male even though she has not mentioned anything about it. It is difficult for a female of 82 years of age suffering from physical and mental problems to have sex with a male. On the other hand, she can easily engage in a sexual relationship with a female. I assume that the partner she was looking for should be a female. “If gender is the cultural meanings that the sexed body assumes, then a gender cannot said to be follow sex in any one way” (Butler, 1990, p.6). In other words, there is no point in discriminating people with respect to their sexual habits. Traditionally, sex is assumed as a divine act performed between a male and a female. Sex is associated with reproduction and psychological pleasure. The reproduction objective of sex can be met only through the sex between a male and female whereas in order to achieve the second objective; psychological pleasure, sex can be performed without a gender barrier. In that sense, the needs of Iona should be considered sympathetically. El Sadawi, (1980) has argued that the situation and problems of women in contemporary human society are related to class and gender. Historically, men dominate women or one class dominates other. In other words, women are the product of class and sex. Moreover, the oppression of women in any society is in its turn an expression of an economic structure and systems of inheritance and parenthood (El Sadawi, 1980, p.i &4) Barriers or challenges faced by Iona The major barrier faced by Iona for fulfilling her sexual needs is finding a life partner at an age of 82. It is difficult for her to find either a male or female life partner at this very old age. Nobody will take the responsibility of looking after an old lady and to fulfill her sexual needs. Another barrier faced by Iona is the outlook of the society. Society may not accept or consider the needs of Iona as a genuine one. Even though society may have sympathy towards her present condition, it may not consider her demands favorably. Another obstacle in the way of Iona is the religious beliefs and the moral rules. Christianity always advocates a single partner for a person and it prohibits adultery in all means. The thirst for a life partner at the age of 82 cannot bring support to Iona from any of the religious segments. The boy who was born a girl Jon, the 16 year boy brought up as a girl revealed his story in channel 4 documentary to help other transgender teenagers in order to escape from depression and bullying. From the age of six onwards he knew that he is a boy even though brought up as a girl. He was happy to have boyfriends rather than girl friends during his early days because of his self realization as a boy. Jon’s mother accepted that Jon has already started the testosterone treatment that will push his female body into male puberty ((First Cut) The Boy Who Was Born a Girl, n. d) This documentary reveals the psychological problems and family problems faced by transgender teenagers. It is a fact that many people in our society are living under distress because of their transgender characteristics. Bullying, social isolation etc are the major problems faced by transgender teenagers. Transgender teenagers always like the company of the opposite sex. For example the teenager Jon in the documentary liked to have the company of males even though he was living as a girl. Such a strong attraction towards males is caused in the mind of Jon because of the excessive activities of male hormones in Jon’s body. But others may not recognize or accept it and they will spread rumors about it. Thus harassments, bullying, social isolation etc may result. This documentary raised many issues related to the transgender teenagers. This documentary spread a message that revealing the transgender characteristics is better than hiding it. Hiding of the transgender characteristics prevent a person from enjoying a free life. He/she will have always concerns about her identity when interacting with people of same sex and different sex. It is better for such people to accept the challenge and reveal their actual gender identity in order to make their rest of life peaceful. Brzuzy, (2010) has mentioned that prejudice and discrimination against transgender puts these individuals at greater risk for social and psychological distress, and some research indicates that prejudice and discrimination are more virulent against transgenders (Brzuzy, PhD, 2010). Man is a social animal. He/She likes the company of other humans for different purposes like, playing, studying, performing certain tasks, and for sexual activities. In other words, it is difficult for a person to lead lonely isolated life. Jagger, (2008) has mentioned that transsexuals has encountered hostility from some quarters because they transcend gender categories and from others because they reaffirm them (Jagger, 2008, p.140). In the case of Jon, he was facing severe problems from the male community because of his attempt to make company with them at an early age. Other male students considered him as a female and isolated him their company. If Jon decided to spend his remaining period as a female suppressing his actual gender identity, he will face severe emotional problems. His actual personality may not develop properly if he spends his life as a female. In other words, his cognitive functions may not support his personality developments because of the clashes between these two entities. CONCLUSIONS Many people have the belief that social work is an easy profession in which anybody can excel. But it is a fact that, like all the other professionals, social workers also facing strong challenges in their work in the contemporary society. The life philosophies and living standards are changing day by day and based on these changes, the needs of the public are also changing. Earlier, people were not much concerned about the services they were receiving from the social workers as they thought social service is a charity service offered to them. But now people visualize getting social service as their basic right rather than a good will of somebody. Social workers are facing many personal and professional challenges at present. Poor pay scale, inadequate training, excessive workloads, lack of funding etc are some of the major challenges faced by the social workers. Unlike many other professions, social workers are getting fewer rewards when we consider the complexities and excessive workloads in their profession. Moreover, many of the social workers were injected into the society without providing adequate training to them because of the increasing calls for the social workers. Thus majority of the social workers in the field at present have not much idea in how to handle the diverse requirements of the society. Earlier the responsibilities of the social workers were limited in assisting a person physically to get rid of a problematic situation. Now it is the duty of the social worker to assist the community in their mental developments as well. Lack of funding is another major obstacle in conducting social service effectively. Most of the governments and agencies spread the messages of importance of social service in the present social setups. But they will not provide enough facilities or the infrastructures for the effective operations of the social workers. The life standards are changing and based on that the needs of the population or the community is also changing. It is impossible for the social workers to execute their responsibilities in the absence of support from the government or other governmental agencies. Social work is intended to improve the quality of life and to improve the development of the full potential of a person. Social work is mainly focused on the community and social developments whereas it may at times consider the economical, educational, medical, political and psychological development as well. In other words, anything which helps a person to improve his present living standards can be termed as a social work. According to the principles of National association of social workers, health care social workers should provide services across the continuum of care and in various settings like public health, acute, and chronic care settings, providing a range of services including health education, crisis intervention, supportive counseling, and case management. Social workers should assess the present condition of the individuals with respect to their biomedical, psychosocial and spiritual factors before interpreting the treatments for them. They should also consider the impact of health conditions or treatments on cognitive, emotional, social, sexual, psychological, or physical functioning (National association of social workers, 2005, p.5-20) Iona’s case was actually a bit surprising one for me. I never thought that as a social worker, I may face such a situation in my professional career. According to the objectives of social service profession, I have the moral right to do everything possible to improve the living standards of Iona. But I never anticipated that people may publicly reveal their desire for sex even at the age of 82. I have realized that sex has no age barrier and it will follow a person until his/her death. Moreover, I have realized that in situations like the one mentioned in the Iona case study, social workers need more counseling skills and management skills. It is a fact that it is difficult for me to fulfill the needs of Iona, but definitely, I can make her aware of the limitations of our society and its life philosophies and encourage her to think differently. I should advice her that she has to think more of her physical condition at present rather than thinking about her psychological needs. The problems faced by Jon, a transgender, are also a touching one. Our society is keeping double standards in the treatment of transgenders. Instead of accepting them as normal individuals, people treat them differently and always trying to bully or harass them. Most of the transgenders forced to hide their gender identity because of the fear of harassment. We should change out views with respect to transgenders. They are also human beings and their physical problems are not happened because of their faults, but because of the nature’s jokes. It can be happened to any one and there is no point in keeping such people away from the main streams of our society. Like many other segments of human life, globalization has affected the social service profession also. Globalization has raised many challenges in ensuring social and economic justice to all the members of a society. Even though many people perceived globalization as a tool to help the poor, exploitation of poor is happening in the name of globalization at present. In short, the responsibilities of the social workers increased a lot as a result of exploitation in the name of globalization and subsequent problems. In short, the meanings and dimensions of social work is changing based on the changes happened in the life styles and life philosophies of the people. Only a social worker who was able to assess these changes adequately and adjusts his/her tactics accordingly will be able to succeed in social service profession. References 1. Butler, J. (1990) Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, London: Routledge. 2. Brzuzy S, PhD, (2010), Session: Implications of Transgender Theory for Social Work Research and Practice (Society for Social Work and Research 14th Annual Conference: Social Work Research: A WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES), Retrieved on 25 May 2010 from http://sswr.confex.com/sswr/2010/webprogram/Session4210.html 3. Dench, G, Gavron K, & Young M (2006) The New East End: Kinship, Race and Culture, London: Profile Books 4. El Sadawi, H. (1980) The Hidden Face of Eve: Women in the Arab World, London: Zed Books.  5. (First Cut) The Boy Who Was Born a Girl, (n. d), Retrieved on 25 May 2010 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWQPvzCZ64U 6. Jagger, G. (2008) Judith Butler: Sexual politics, social change and the power of the performative, London: Routledge 7. National association of social workers, (2005),Social Work Practices, Retrieved on 25 May 2010 from http://www.socialworkers.org/practice/standards/NASWHealthCareStandards.pdf 8. National Institute on Aging (2009), Sex in later life, Retrieved on 25 May 2010 from http://www.seekwellness.com/mensexuality/sexual.htm 9. Searing H, (2008),  So You Want to be a Social Worker?, Retrieved on 25 May 2010 from http://www.radical.org.uk/barefoot/students.htm Read More